It appears Strachn used his bedsheets, which he tied to the steel frame of his bunk bed, to strangle himself, Allen said. Strachn was in the cell by himself when he was found by a corrections officer.

In June, Strachn was charged with murdering his mother, Adrienne Strachn, in their Pleasant Valley Estates home.

Christopher Strachn's death appears to be a suicide, but it is still being investigated by the county district attorney's office and state police, officials said.

When a death is reported at a state correctional facility, it is protocol for the district attorney's office in conjunction with the state police to investigate, even if the death isn't considered suspicious, said Monroe County District Attorney E. David Christine Jr.

The area in which the apparent suicide took place was under video surveillance and state police are in the process of reviewing those tapes, Christine said Sunday.

"We are anticipating the state police will have a report ready sometime in the mid-week. It appears to clearly have been a suicide," he said.

Christine declined to comment on whether Strachn was being treated for any mental health issues at the time of his death.

"I assume the report will outline what, if any, medical treatment was going on at the time this occurred," he said.

How frequently an inmate's cell is checked depends on the individual, said Monroe County Sheriff Todd Martin, who also sits on the county's prison board.

Martin was unsure how often cell inspections are conducted, but said checks are done regularly and may be done more frequently if the individual is on suicide watch or if they are being monitored for a medical condition.

Martin was unsure whether Strachn was being monitored more frequently.

Once Asure, the district attorney's office and state police are done investigating, their reports will be turned over to the Monroe County Correctional Facility Prison Board, which will conduct its own review and determine whether protocol was followed on the night of the incident, Martin said.

At 2:49 a.m. on June 13, 2012, Strachn called 911, and told emergency operators he had choked his mother. He told 911 operators she was on the kitchen floor and he believed she was dead.

Police found Adrienne Strachn, 53, dead on the kitchen floor with blood under her body. Police said they found a broken knife handle on a small table in the kitchen area and a broken knife blade on the living room floor.

An autopsy report showed Adrienne Strachn died by strangulation and from three stab wounds, two on her back and one on the neck.

Christopher Strachn had a troubled past.

Court records show that in July 2011, he was sentenced to up to 23 months for committing several crimes, including receiving stolen property and fleeing police.

At the time of the murder, neighbors told the Pocono Record that Strachn had been acting erratically and was known to wander the streets of the development screaming and making strange noises.

An autopsy will be conducted on Christopher Strachn this morning at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allen said.

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